Jan Gruter facts for kids
Jan Gruter (born December 3, 1560 – died September 20, 1627) was a famous scholar, writer, and librarian from a region called Flanders (part of modern-day Belgium). He was known for his deep knowledge of ancient languages and texts.
Life Story of Jan Gruter
Jan Gruter was born in Antwerp, a city that is now in Belgium. His father, Wouter Gruter, was a merchant and also helped run the city. His mother, Catharina Tishem, was from Norwich, England.
When Jan was a child, his family moved to England. They left their home to avoid difficult times and unfair treatment because of their religious beliefs during the early years of the Eighty Years' War.
Jan studied at Caius College, Cambridge in England for some years. After that, he went to the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. In 1584, he earned a special degree in law.
After finishing his studies, Jan Gruter traveled a lot. He visited France, Switzerland, Italy, and parts of Germany. During this time, he also published some of his poems written in Neo-Latin, which was a style of Latin used after the Roman Empire.
Becoming a Professor
In 1590, Jan Gruter became a history professor at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. However, he was a Calvinist, which was a different Christian faith from the main one in Wittenberg at the time. Because he would not agree to the official Lutheran statement of faith, he lost his job in 1592.
From 1589 to 1592, he taught at the University of Rostock. Later, he moved to Heidelberg. In 1602, he was given an important job there: he became the main librarian for the university. Jan Gruter passed away in Bierhelderhof, near Heidelberg.
Main Works and Books
Jan Gruter wrote many important books. His most famous works include:
- Inscriptiones antiquae totius orbis Romani (published in 1603): This was a huge collection of ancient Roman inscriptions from all over the world. It helped scholars learn a lot about Roman history and daily life.
- Lampas, sive fax artium liberalium (published between 1602 and 1634): This was a multi-volume work that explored many different subjects related to the arts and sciences of his time.
